Sydney Harbour Bridge – who was Kathleen Butler?

There are many resources available online that provide a great sense of the excitement generated by the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Take this photographic montage from the Archives Outside team at State Records, New South Wales and these clips from the Australian Film and Sound Archive.

While J J C Bradfield is well known for his role in the design and delivery of the bridge, little is remembered of Kathleen Butler, a woman who played a critical role in the project. She appears in this photograph in the Sydney Morning Herald – 17 January 1924 with the Minister for Works and Bradfield for the opening of the construction tenders.

When the scheme for the Sydney Harbour bridge and the big underground railway system was finally agreed on by Parliament, Miss Butler was the first officer appointed to the department created to deal with these two great engineering projects. She was appointed on her merits and because she had mastered all sorts of intricate technical matters of engineering during the years she was in the Government service. ……..

Bradfield praised Miss Butler for her grasp of technical detail and her thorough approach to the specifications. Kathleen Butler played a key role in the preparation of the report on the tenders.

“I was the only woman present in the Minister’s room when the tenders were opened. It was a most exciting moment”.

Mrs Maurice Hagarty of Strathlea Cunnamulla Queensland is at present holidaying in Sydney with her little daughter Anne Josephine. Before her marriage Mrs Hagarty was Miss Kathleen Butler who was in charge of the Sydney Harbour Bridge staff during its construction: during her term of office Mrs Hagarty was sent to England. Although she is far removed from bridge building in her new sphere Mrs Hagarty says she cannot curb her interest in the new Queensland bridge at Kangaroo Point and feels that she hates to be out of it all. Since she arrived in Sydney at the beginning of the year Mrs Hagarty has seen a great deal of Dr and Mrs J C Bradfield and Miss Mary Bradfield. Mr Hagarty is at present in Melbourne and they will return to Cunnamulla together after Easter.

Thank you for your reply, Maria. My mother and Kathleen were close friends and there are many references to her in the diary my mother wrote, giving details of shipboard life on the Ormonde and of visits to Kathleen’s flat in London and outings they had together. My sisters knew a girl in the 1950s called Caroline Butler who we think was also a relative. It is interesting to know of such a clever and adventurous woman..my mother also “went bush” –to Forbes NSW, which like Cunnamulla was a far cry from the London of the roaring twenties. Cheers Marianne

Hi Marianne, if there is anyway I could read copies it would be lovely. Caroline Butler (Levine), who is my Grandmothers niece or Mums (who has sadly passed away) cousin, is still living is Sydney. Her father was Roger Butler who was also very involved in the Sydney Harbour Bridge.